The second concert is at Christ Church Anglican Cathedral at 7.30 pm. For details click the poster below.

Both concerts are a tribute to the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice which ended the Great War on November 11th, 1918 and the sacrifice of those from the Dominions of Canada and Newfoundland.

A Brief History of North Lakeshore Chorus

Performing concerts in historic Ontario church venues since 2012, the North Lakeshore Chorus was not named as such until 2014. A SATB Community Choir drawing from experienced singers from the greater Toronto, Kingston and Cobourg regions, all on the north shore of Lake Ontario, choir members first sang together in honour of Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Concerts followed in 2013 to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation on June 2nd, 1953.

After a successful concert series in June of 2014, which paid tribute to the soldiers of the First Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force and the 100th Anniversary of the start of the Great War on August 4th, 1914, the choir embarked on a highly successful 10-day tour of the Maritimes in August. This was the catalyst for tours to England, France and Belgium in 2015 to pay tribute to the 100th anniversary of the deployment of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on the European Continent in 1915, and to Newfoundland in 2016 to pay tribute to the 100th anniversary of the horrific losses suffered by the Royal Newfoundland Regiment at the Battle of Beaumont Hamel on July 1st, 1916.

2017 saw concerts in Kingston, Cobourg, Whitby and Wellington to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Confederation on July 1st, 1867, as well as a choral tribute in Wellington to honour the memory of Pte. Thomas Clifford Wilson, who was killed at the Battle of Passchendaele on November 4th, 1917, and had grown up on the farm in which the Procuder Michael Korn now lives.

Members of the choir are very excited by the prospect of travelling to England, France, Belgium, Germany and Scotland in 2018 to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War. Ian Juby will conduct our 50-voice choir, Jacqueline Mokrzewski will accompany on the piano and Garret Rodgers will play the bagpipes. The 2018 Tour promises to be a very memorable one.

“We can truly say that the whole circuit of the earth is girdled with the graves of our dead … and, in the course of my pilgrimage, I have many times asked myself whether there can be more potent advocates of peace upon earth through the years to come than their massed multitude of silent witness to the desolation of war”.

We are very grateful to Bob Cavanagh, Bill James and Carolyn Kirkup, all members of the Kingston Choral Society, for their stellar work in creating this website and getting it up and running in a very limited time.

We are also indebted to Bob Cavanagh for his subsequent updates and the Kingston Choral Society for hosting this page.

Canada Gate, London, England

Trinity United Church, Cobourg

Canterbury Cathedral, England

Exeter Cathedral, England

Menin Gate, Ypres, Belgium

At Parliament Hill, Ottawa

Picton United Church

Chalmers-Wesley United Church, Quebec City

Cathedral Church of St. James, Toronto

Vimy Memorial, France

At the War Museum, Ottawa

New Lyrics to the tune of "The Maple Leaf Forever"

Tribute to the end of the Great War

In 1918, peace at last! Guns fell silent, war was pastThe boys came home forever changed, time to think of a fresh new start.In Flanders Fields, where poppies grow and graves bear silent witness,To the sacrifice of many young men, who died for King and Country!

Beacon of hope for all the world,A land of great diversity,Proud dominion truly blessed,Golden fields of grain,Rocky Mountains tall,Shining lakes and rugged coastlines,We join as one to celebrateOur nation's special birthday

In 1914, we set sail, o'er the Atlantic's billowing wavesResponding to the Empire's call we fought at Gallipoli.At Beaumont Hamel, on July the First, our losses were horrific;On Memorial Day we'll ne'er forget, the sacrifice of so many.

Chorus

The caribou our emblem dear, a tribute to our soldiersWho gave their lives for their island home,The Rock of Newfoundland.

Tribute to the soldiers of theFirst Contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force

In 1914, we set sail, o'er the Atlantic's billowing wavesResponding to the Empire's call, we fought on Europe's soil.The earth turned red, like a maple leaf,Now poppies grow there ever.Our nation forged on Flander's FieldsThe Maple Leaf Forever!